While recognizing that there is a real need and desire for a movement which mobilizes activists , unions and communities onto the streets together, we are disappointed that the People’s Assembly looks unlikely to bring it about…at least while it has an entry fee and a cursory nod to inclusion and accessibility.

Any attempt at bringing together all those sickened by this Governments shameful and harmful policies to fightback, should include those who have been fighting this fight in the streets, not just in the broadsheets. Those who have led the resistance have earned the right to be part of any movement worthy of the name.

An assembly of this nature can only work if it’s :Brought about by a collective of workers, activists, communities together:With a shared vision of what we are trying to achieve:Working in an inclusive way:Using every possible means at our disposal:In a strategic attack on Governments ability to carry out its work,And bring about its end.

Members attending will not be offered an opportunity to achieve any of these aims. Without grassroots street activists being part of driving this initiative from the outset, any decisions or outcomes are likely to be repeats of tried and tested failures of the past. Without the risk of radical action, the Government is unlikely to be concerned by another march, petition or one day strike.

DPAC/Black Triangle members will attend the event in an individual capacity to engage with attendees, and encourage others to join us in our call for sustained mass, widespread civil disobedience from every section of society until this Government falls.

12 Responses to “DPAC Position Statement: the Peoples Assembly”

“The “People’s Assembly Against Austerity”, held in London on June 22, was a desperate attempt to uphold the threadbare authority of the trade unions and to suppress any movement independent of them and the Labour Party.”

I read this with dismay. The Labour Party has no real balls, the People’s Assembly would appear to have pseudo-balls; I am at the point where the Left maybe needs to organise a new Party, one that really stands for and represents those in need. This country is now so Right Wing, it should have as its emblem a vulture!!

It does seem that all/most establishment parties have been bought up by the corps and banks. I was an AIDS activist full-time til 2007… We kept saying to companero/as , “guys, stop taking the corps monies! ” But their bottom line was saving lives so there was no sense that it might all end in tears back then. HOWEVER when U see our MPs are /have been for ages and will carry on being bought by the corps and banks and so on, then we are a in a desperate situ, where only a revolution of thinking first, education, mind-swell(!) and much action can really do anything to back track in a healthy way
im agree another party is necessary … a coalition of left and green and more.. Isn’t there already a Green Socialist group though?

There is a new party called Left Unity. We were in attendance at the march but I am led to believe our wish to speak was denied by the organisers, who seem to view the peoples assembly as a Labour party pressure group.

Just left this on PA website:
In the People’s Assembly Against Austerity statement and proposed declaration and action plan certain social divisions are specifically mentioned – children, students, race and religion. However there is no reference to the unemployed, women or disabled people and this is a concern to me, as it potentially signals a boundary marking who is entitled to certain resources and who is not, in the vision of the organisers. Unfortunately if this boundary proves real, it will reflect the austerity policy announced recently by the current Labour Party leadership.
History will judge.

I haven’t followed the People’s Assembley from its formation at all, as I’ve got enough of a feeling of how these huge initiatives turn out to not have wanted to waste energy on it, as I’ve never had a vision for how to improve them, as it’s a larger scale than I like to work on. This statement sound as if you had hoped that the People’s Assembly could have been better than it has turned out.

Does anyone/ you as a group have enough clarity about ideas for how it could have been better to be able to draw together a statement, and invite people who have been involved in forming the people’s assembley to attend an event aimed at learning from failures related to inclusivity practice?

Would attempting to do so be a waste of energy, or a productive space for engagement?

DPAC is listed as one of the organisations supporting/involved in the People’s Assembley. Is this the case? If the People’s Assembley could explicitly declare support for wildcat style individual and/or formal or informal group action, civil disobedience and everyday resistance in addition to action on declared days of action or organised through the ‘democratic process of unions’, then I would be get behind it, although I would continue to direct my organising energy outside it.

What could this support consist of? Explicit encouragement and acknowledgement and solidarity – and the possibility of resources in trems of communication network/ skillbank support.
Is it worth giving a declaration of how the people’s assembley could give that support, while accepting it as a limited body which is not sufficiently inclusive to work within?
I don’t know if that’s a useful conversation or not. Any thoughts?

We just discovered the dpac logo on the PA page, we’re now working with them to try and sort it out. Although we gave feed-in early on, we were then dropped off the steering committee/not contacted. Its not the case that dpac are one of the organisers. There may be options to put something together directly from the grass roots and those who have carried out DAs in the fight against this Gov at a later stage-for now we want to feed-in and try to rescue the access issues for the day.